Here's my latest special report: Could Plants Save the Planet?
Cleaning up soil, air, and water is all in a day's work for these superheroes!

Did you know that Nature's got millions of tough green guys working for her? These superheroes are plants that work like living vacuums, cleaning up the soil, air, and water we need to survive.

Meet the Phyto Remediators!

Brake Fern: Hi! I'm a brake fern. Do you know how important plants are to the planet? They help to make oxygen for you to breathe, and food for you to eat.

Some plants, like legumes, can make soil healthier by putting nutrients back into it to nourish other plants. But Phyto Remediators like me are the coolest plants! We clean up dangerous things like pesticides, petroleum, heavy metals, and other pollutants from soil and water to make it safer.

Phytoremediation (fytow-re-mead-e-a-shon)

Here's how it works:

• Plant roots take in water, nutrients, and pollutants from the soil.
• Pollutants are transported by water to the plant's leaves.
• Water evaporates from the leaves, leaving the pollutant in the plant.
• When plants are fully-grown they are harvested and disposed of or recycled.

Marlow: Fascinating! What kind of plants can do this?

Brake: About 400 plants have phytoremediation powers. Some plants, like me, are hyperaccumulators. That means we absorb pollutants (my specialty is arsenic) from soil and water and store them in our roots and leaves. Other plants, like the poplar tree, use their roots and bacteria in the soil to make poisonous chemicals harmless.

Did you know? A fern can clean almost fifty times its own weight of arsenic-contaminated soil. Corn, peas, and ragweed can remove lead from soil. Lemon-scented geraniums can absorb the kind of pollutants and metals found on old mining lands and gas stations.

Marlow: Far out! What about cleaning the water?

Sunflower: Water gets polluted by chemicals, fertilizers, sewer systems, fuel spills, and on and on. Some plants, like me and my sunflower friends, specialize in rhizofiltration (rye-zo-fil-tra-shon). Our root system acts as a filter. It absorbs polluted water and releases clean water.

Did you know? Sunflowers were used to remove heavy metals and toxins from contaminated pond water after the 1986 disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the Ukraine. Some plants' roots can stretch 10 feet beneath the water surface. Plants work with sunlight, oxygen, bacteria, algae, snails, and fish to keep pond water clean.

Marlow: That is way cool! How do plants keep the air clean?

Poplar: I can answer that one! I'm a poplar tree, and leaves on plants and other trees act like natural outdoor air filters, trapping dust, fumes, odors, and chemicals. Indoors, plants like dracaenas, chrysanthemums, and spider plants can clean air by absorbing the kind of chemicals that carpets, paints, and cigarette smoke give off.

Did you know? A tree absorbs about 13 pounds of carbon dioxide per year, which can help to reduce global warming. Polluted indoor air can lead to "sick building syndrome," which can cause dizziness, skin rashes, headaches, and breathing difficulty. According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), you can clean the air in your house by adding one plant per 100 square feet. 15-18 houseplants will improve the air quality in an average size home!

It's your turn to become a hero: get planting and help save the planet too! Outdoors and indoors, the "Phyto Remediator" plants can help you care for the environment naturally, while making the soil, water, and air better for everyone!

Your Mission… Keep your houseplants happy!

Related Links Find out which plants can clean up common indoor air pollutants. Learn how to plant a tree.

GLOSSARY WORDS:
Arsenic
A poisonous substance often found in pesticides and weed killer.

Carbon dioxide
A heavy, colorless gas that is breathed out by humans and animals and is used by plants during photosynthesis.

Global warming
The destruction of the ozone layer, caused by man-made poisonous pollutants released into the atmosphere, resulting in a warmer surface temperature on earth.

Heavy metals
Toxic metals like lead, mercury, and aluminum that in very tiny amounts are necessary to support life, but are bad for people and animal's health at high levels.

Lead
A metal that is often found in old paint. It can be poisonous if it gets into your body.

Legume
A family of plants that includes peas, beans, alfalfa, and clover. These plants are all pod-bearing, like a peapod.

Nutrient
An element of food necessary for growth. Examples: Vitamins, minerals, protein, etc.

Oxygen
A colorless, tasteless, odorless gas that is part of air, water, and many other natural things.

Pollutants
Man-made waste that harms the environment.

Written by Sarah Eykyn. Illustrations by Yasushi Fujimoto, Tokiko Jinta, and Glenn Hughes.